Tips for the Artists in Limbo: Entry Four

Tackling “Stage Fright” as a Professional

We’ve all seen it on television before - an individual steps out onto a dark stage, one single spotlight on them. The faces in the audience are barely visible in the light but you can tell that the house is packed. The artist puts the microphone to their mouth, and then they just freeze. Nothing comes out of their mouth and they look like they can’t move. They may stutter or, in the worst cases, just run off stage while the audience starts murmuring with confusion or concern.

Sound familiar? For most people, this is what you probably think of when you think of Performance Anxiety. You may know it better as “stage fright” or “choking”. But, does it mean anything deeper than just a heartwrenching storyline in a movie or TV show? Do professional performers actually feel those symptoms or is it just a myth? The answer is yes, yes they do! But, it looks so different for each person.

In actuality, the majority of performers, public speakers, or athletes have dealt with performance anxiety at some point in their careers, usually documented in early life. However, though it is not talked about often, for some people that anxiety never goes away despite their success. It doesn’t matter how often they perform, they feel as if they are constantly battling these debilitating anxiety symptoms that are ironically linked to doing something that they love to do.

But, there is some good news! It is arguably not talked about enough, but performance anxiety as a working professional is extremely common. You are not alone, you may just need to learn more about what you are feeling, how that has changed the more experienced you become, and how to remedy those evolving symptoms.

Performance anxiety can manifest itself in many different forms or a even a combination of forms. I think of anxiety manifesting in three basic ways: Cognitively, Physically, or Behaviorally.

Physical - symptoms may include sweating, shaking, increased heart rate, tensed muscles, and labored breathing.

These are some of the easier symptoms to immediately identify. Though you are subconsciously aware that they are anxiety induced, it can be hard to holistically manage these physical symptoms in real time under pressure.

Cognitive - symptoms may include worry, negative thoughts, fear.

These may or may not exist outside of the stressful environment as well. These may come up in the days or weeks leading up to a big event or may sporadically occur in general throughout your life.

Behavioral - symptoms may include avoiding opportunities, disinterest in discussion of the event, an overall avoidant mentality, self deprication.

Having one bad experience with performance anxiety may cause you to want to avoid talking about your upcoming events or completely avoid pursuing the activity altogether.

For me personally, it helps to organize my symptoms into these categories so that I can more easily identify what exactly I am experiencing in the moment, and more productively move forward with a remedy.

I personally have been dealing with various levels of performance anxiety for as long as I can remember playing my instrument. At this point, I am very aware that it most often stems from a tendency to compare myself to others who are in the environment with me, usually in a competitive environment like an audition. But, for some performers, perhaps there was one stressful experience that occurred in the past and that continues to “haunt” them in their career now.

In that case, your remedy may require a deeper understanding of why that event was so traumatic for you. What kind of worries are linked to that event that you feel like you want to avoid in your current performance experiences.

Or, perhaps you experienced immense pressure from someone in your cirlce, like a teacher, mentor or a family member. So much so, that you feel that pressure come down on you mentally every single time you perform.

If you are able to link it to a single experience or time in your life, make sure that you find a way to confront that trauma in a healthy way that works for you. Maybe look into talking to a therapist to gain a better understanding of the phsycological effects and how to gain more control of how your present body reacts to those triggers.

For those similar to me, who may not be able to link their anxiety to a single event in their life, but more so have consistently felt these symptoms: I believe you could most benefit from, first, normalizing what you are experiencing.

I had to accept the fact that this was a natural reaction that I have to performing in front of a crowd or in an audition, and with acceptance alone, I had already gained a small bit of mental control over my anxiety. Acknowledging that it is a part of me helps me to diffuse my cognitive reactions to performing and shift my main goal to remedying the physical symptoms that I experience instead.

Finally - for those who may be feeling a little caught off gaurd with your performance anxiety symptoms, because perhaps you have never experienced this feeling before now, that is normal as well! There are so many things that life can throw at us as artists that can seemingly “out of the blue” begin to trigger anxiety symptoms in you. Events like winning a new performance job, beginning your studies in a new degree path, or performing for a different scale of audience are all valid triggers.

And let’s not forget - the COVID-19 pandemic has changed perspective for A LOT of creative arts in the industry, let alone the mentality around performing. It is quite interesting how the fact of the pandemic making artist jobs more scarce has created this undocumented pressure on artists today. Some performers are experiencing this type of anxiety for the first time post-pandemic, as the feeling that audition mistakes are more costly and vying for performance jobs has more pressure surrounding it.

Now that you have done some work to better understand your symptoms and the root cause, you can start the work to regain control of your craft.

Knowledge really is power! As I mentioned, familiarizing yourself with studies on performance anxiety and, essentially, knowing what to expect can really help at this stage.

One thing that I try to practice in all aspects of my craft, but especially in a high-stress environment, is to shift the focus off of me and on to the task at hand. Think of this moment as an opportunity, or your duty, to portray the art to your audience. Even in instances like an audition - stop thinking of auditions as moments that can go wrong and instead think of them as opportunities to display all of your hard work and talent.

That sounds easier said than done, but if you work on this mentality in your day to day practice, it will become second nature once you are in front of an audience. Your high pressure situations may not come across to you as anything other than exciting opportunities to create art.

This positive mentality also requires you being more present in the moment. Don’t let your mind go down the road of “what if’s” and negative outcomes. Worry about today - what do you need to accomplish today in preparation for what is coming up.

Being validated by someone saying “you aren’t the only one” or “I feel that way too”, is such a great feeling.

It is a shame that, for most, performance anxiety isn’t openly talked about more in an educational environment, but as you grow professionally do know that it is indeed a shared experience.

As we can conclude, performance anxiety is not only reserved for the early years in your craft. There are plenty of respected professionals who experience multiple symptoms no matter how long they have been working, and have been able to successfully manage them throughout their careers.

In her 2023 memoir “My Name is Barbra”, Barbra Streisand pins her early experiences with stage fright to her work portraying Fanny Price in “Funny Girl” and how, after forgetting lyrics during a performance she had in Central Park in 1967, she avoided performing in public for decades after that. She explains that her experience with a co-star of “Funny Girl” putting a continuous pressure on her, instilled a fear of performing.

And guess what - Streisand became, and has continued to be, one of the most respected American singers and actresses, despite her battle with anxiety, and has thankfully shared her experience in her memoir to remind her audience that she is human.

Manifest more positive outcomes, become more prepared for what you may experience in the moment, take control of the situation, and continue to enjoy creating art.

Article Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/barbra-streisand-book-memoir-stage-fright-dates-back-to-funny-girl-new-memoir/

https://www.salon.com/2023/11/07/barbra-streisand-memoir-revelations/

https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/subjects/2024/05/reducing-musical-performance-anxiety-students-awareness-of-mpa-and-coping-strategies-to-help-your-classroom/

https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/how-to-overcome-performance-anxiety